National Book Award Non Fiction Winner
Russia Leaves the War
by George F. Kennan
Summary
The opening volume of Kennan's diplomatic history of Soviet-American relations, focused on the turbulent period from the 1917 revolutions through the U.S. intervention at Archangel and Vladivostok. Drawing on State Department archives and his own deep familiarity with Russian culture, Kennan reconstructs how misunderstanding, ideology, and personality on both sides poisoned the relationship from its beginning. The book remains a foundational text for the historiography of the early Cold War.
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Historical Context & Significance
Kennan was the primary architect of the U.S. policy of "Containment" during the Cold War; this book applied his diplomatic expertise to the history of the 1917 revolution.